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Thursday, March 23, 2017

We Made a Snowman

Again last Friday, K3 and Toad came to stay overnight. We had a snowstorm. I guess you could say the last official one of Winter, since Spring began three days later. I know better than to think it was the last snow I'll see for months, as here in this part of Michigan it's not unheard of to have a random snow squall until shortly before Memorial Day. April snows, in fact, are what greens up the grass so well and seems to make the early blooming flowers more vibrant.

Anyway, on Saturday morning there was about an inch and a half of snow on the ground, although the air was warming quickly. So right after breakfast we bundled the kids into their snow gear--more for keeping their clothes dry than for warmth--and took them outside to play. DH got out the 4-wheeler and hooked a sled behind it and gave them sled rides around the yard for a little while. Each one got a faceful of snow on a sharp turn where their rear end separated from the sled, but it didn't dampen their enthusiasm for climbing back on the sled and being whisked away again for more smiles and giggles. Later, he confided in me that he'd purposely upended them, so they could see that playing in the snow often means biffing it a time or two but is no reason to not play at all. Plus, he has plans for when they get older and bigger. . . longer ropes and corners with a little more snap to them when the kids are stronger and can hold on better (and will love playing crack the whip on a sled). I don't know, maybe I need to add the caveat that when you live where there aren't many sled-able hills, you have to get creative in your sledding endeavors. . .

We also built a snowman. It has been years since I built a snowman, and I think this is the first one the kids have built, so he came out a little rough. And, being a very sticky late season snow, more than a few dead grass pieces got picked up by the snow during the rolling process. He's definitely not your pristine white stereotypical snowman. But, he was just Toad's height, and the kids were delighted with him. They reminded me that a snowman needs a carrot nose (I think, due to their familiarity with Olaf from the movie Frozen.) so we had to retrieve one from the refrigerator crisper drawer in the house.

Then Toad informed me that our snowman had no mouth (due to the lack of small stones in the yard or driveway). So I found a young, flexible stick that just happened to be red (and on a branch I was planning to prune anyway) and we gave Mr. Snowman a mouth. That made him happy.

He smiled until after the kids went home, and the fog lifted and the sun came out to melt him away.